


Confession

by Applesun202 (ScorchedAngel)



Category: White Collar
Genre: Confrontations, Friendship, LiveJournal Prompt, M/M, Peter and Neal aren't even in this..., Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-07
Updated: 2012-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25049857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorchedAngel/pseuds/Applesun202
Summary: Prompt: Mozzie/El friendship, canon Peter/El, pre-Peter/Neal/El; Mozzie confronts Elizabeth about Neal's feelings for Peter.
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke & Mozzie (White Collar), Elizabeth Burke/Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Confession

**Author's Note:**

  * For [holmes221b](https://archiveofourown.org/users/holmes221b/gifts).



> (Hey Holmes221b! I'm sure you don't even remember this but I wanted to remember who it was written for originally XD )
> 
> I'm currently in the process of importing old works over from Livejournal. This fic is part of what I call my "Exclamation Mark Period". (I left them in and barely edited this because it's I think it's nicer for posterity!)

I don’t know what made me do it. I preferred to observe other people’s relationships, not interfere. Yet something compelled me to go to Elizabeth. Perhaps it was the thought of losing Neal completely to the FBI (It’s one thing having a finger in the FBI pie, it’s quite another... well, you know). Perhaps it was the fact that the lingering glances were beginning to go both ways. Whatever the reason, I found myself sitting at the Suit’s dining table, gathering my words, as Mrs Suit stared at me curiously.  
  
Her expression began to turn to one of concern, so I thought it best to say something. “Elizabeth, I’ve always been truthful with you, haven’t I?”  
  
She gave me a small smile. “I have no idea. I just try to assume so, so I don’t drive myself crazy,” she answered honestly.  
  
“Well, I just want you to know, I wouldn’t lie about this... Especially when I don’t really have a stake in it... well. except you of course... I mean your happiness... Not that I’ve become dependant on you! Or anyone else for that --”  
  
“Mozzie?” she cut in, “What are you trying to say?”  
  
I paused to gather my thoughts again and put the words into some coherent order. “I wanted to talk to you about Neal.” I tried to assess her reaction to that introduction in the selfish hope that she was already aware of what I was going to say. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and broke eye contact, finding great interest in her fingernails suddenly. Guilt.  
  
“What about Neal?” she asked. She opened her mouth as though she was going to speak again but then changed her mind and looked up at me.  
  
I was curious. I couldn’t let that go by... “El, is there something you’d like to tell me?” About Neal?”  
  
“No, of course not! There’s nothing to tell I mean. What are you implying Mozzie?” She apparently realized she wasn’t being accused of anything...  
  
“Nothing, forget it. We don’t have to talk about it. However, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” I chose the most delicate words I could. “I know Neal better than anyone. Better than he knows himself sometimes. And I know what it looks like when he’s in love.”  
  
She started nodding sadly. Perhaps she really did know what I was going to say.  
  
“I’ve been seeing it lately, and I think I need to say something about it because the person in question appears to be starting to feel it too.” I looked at her earnestly, hoping it was sinking in.  
  
She nodded again. “Are you going to mention it to Peter?”  
  
I had considered that, but I didn’t think he would be willing to listen to me. Neal certainly wasn’t! “I thought it might be better coming from you.”  
  
“You’re probably right,” she sighed. “I never wanted to do anything to put our marriage in jeopardy.”  
  
A strange choice of words, I thought, but never mind. “I understand,” I reached a hand out to try and comfort her. She took it and squeezed gently.  
  
“What am I going to say to him?”  
  
Another conversation I’d rehearsed countless times... “Well, ‘what are you thinking?’ or ‘remember your wife?’ seem like good starting points.”  
  
Elizabeth pulled her hand back and looked confused. “Wait a minute, what are you talking about?”  
  
“What are you talking about?”  
  
“The thing between me and Neal!”  
  
“There’s a thing between you and Neal?”  
  
“What are you talking about?”  
  
“The thing between Peter and Neal!”  
  
Her serious expression broke almost immediately into a laugh. “What? There’s no ‘thing’ between Peter and Neal!”  
  
This was more like the reaction I’d been expecting. “I didn’t want to believe it either, but it’s getting difficult to ignore.”  
  
“But Mozzie, Peter’s not gay. Neither is Neal for that matter!” she said, as though that settled the matter.  
  
I shook my head sympathetically. “I’ve heard rumors about Neal at times when we weren’t in contact. It sounds like he’s been with a few men in the past. As for Peter...” I shrugged, “relationships evolve.”  
  
She shook her head, unwilling to even consider the idea and looking at me like I had lost my mind.

* * *

Mozzie had lost his mind, there was no doubt about it. “Relationships evolve? That’s ridiculous. And I’d have noticed if Peter was unhappy.” Peter was always terrible at keeping secrets from me.  
  
Mozzie nodded sympathetically, “Haven’t you noticed how much time they spend together? Even outside work hours.”  
  
I thought about it seriously. They did spend a lot of time together and they had gotten very close... but it was because they’d become friends! It couldn’t be anything more than that...  
  
He seemed to take my silence as agreement. “I just wanted to tell you now so you didn’t get hurt sometime in the future.”  
  
“Don’t worry Moz, I’ll be fine.” It was a weird thought. The idea of Peter and Neal... together. Neal took up so much of Peter’s time that I had occasionally considered him a rival, but not like that.  
  
He looked unconvinced but moved on anyway. “So tell me what you meant by the thing between you and Neal,” he said, sitting back and crossing his arms.  
  
“Oh yeah,” I said, regretting having brought it up in the first place. “I don’t really think there’s much to tell!”  
  
“Oh bull! If there wasn’t anything to tell you wouldn’t have been feeling guilty and you wouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place!”  
  
He was right, but I tried to look nonchalant so he wouldn’t know he was right. “Well, I guess you could say I have a bit of a thing for Neal... a big thing maybe. A ‘distracts me while I’m working’ kind of thing. But’s it’s no big deal!” I added before he could say anything judgemental, “It’s just a crush, it’ll pass!”  
  
“What about Peter?”  
  
“What about Peter? I love him more than anything, and I’ll continue to love him no matter what.”  
  
“More than Neal?”  
  
“Of course more than Neal!”  
  
“Because you can’t have them both.”  
  
“I know...” interesting thought. Before my mind could wander I continued, “But then Neal’s more interested in Peter, right Moz?”  
  
He smiled weakly, “I really think he is El.”  
  
“I don’t know, he gives me all these lingering looks and the way he always touches my waist...”  
  
“He does that to Peter too, you know,” he said, almost reluctantly.  
  
Now that he mentioned it, I had seen Neal do that to Peter. “Then isn’t it more likely it means nothing?” I replied, not really believing it.  
  
“You don’t really believe that.”  
  
Damn Mozzie and his weird mind-reading ability. “Ok, say you’re right about Neal. What’s to say Peter feels the same way?” I glared at him now, wishing he would just drop it. The whole conversation was making me extremely uncomfortable. I had never really been jealous of Peter’s friends before. They offer him something I can’t and I’m ok with that. To have a well rounded, socially adjusted, mentally present husband I was willing to let him go ‘be a guy’ sometimes. There was something about Neal that got to me though.  
  
“It’s just the looks, the touching... You know what? You’re probably right. Neal’s always been a tactile person, and Peter probably mimics him subconsciously. It’s probably just my imagination.” He stood up and picked up his jacket, “I -- I got to go Elizabeth, I didn’t mean to upset you.”  
  
I got up and walked him to the door, “Thanks for worrying about me Moz.” I went to hug him but he was out the door before I got a chance. I waved him off and returned to the dinner table. Giving my phone a thoughtful glance, I decided to call Peter and see what he was doing.  
  
“Hey hun.” He answered, almost immediately.  
  
“Hey hun, what’re you doing?”  
  
“Nothing much. Neal and I are done for the day and just hanging out.”  
  
“Oh. Good! Would you come home? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”  
  
“Uh, sure hun. I’ll just drop Neal off --”  
  
“No no, bring Neal with you.”


End file.
